sander lucas ontwerpen: remade design

Sander Lucas Ontwerpen, a graduate of Design Academy Eindhoven has a nice body of work focusing on recycling and upcycling objects turning them into more functional homewares.

aurelie tu: felt housewares

Aurelie Tu is an Industrial Designer originally from Canada. Having earned her practical ID work experience with Hauser in L.A. and Nike in Portland, she has branched out and created her own line of modular interlocking felt homewares. The Portland designer now works together with women at the YWCA in order to create these handmade felt pieces. Her line includes a pendant light and table runners made from the same interlocking materials.

kymo: reassembled mashup rugs

The Mashup rugs by Kymo modernize oriental carpets by upcycling worn ones, reassembling them in a gorgeous compilation with a modern aesthetic. The rugs designed by Eva Langhans and Thomas Follner, remix these old raw materials, in new color coordinated patchworks. They retain the delicateness of traditional oriental carpets, but update the look for a contemporary high end product. The Mashup rugs are available in five standard sizes and six different color schemes. Carpets can also be made to order in custom sizes, shapes and color schemes.

9 by design: unique hip spaces

Bravo airs a new show, 9 By Design tonight April 13 at 11:00pm EST 9:00pm MST. The design show follows the Novogratz family of 9 through their trials and tribulations in building a new residence for themselves. The parents, Robert and Cortney Novogratz have a solid history of renovating properties, this will be their 12th and they have lived in five of their past projects.

The Novogratz's if you have not already guessed have 7 kids including 2 sets of twins and call their company SIXX DESIGN (before they had the last baby boy). The design couple has a new book out too called 'Downtown Chic: Designing Your Dream Home From Wreck to Ravishing'. Their design style is of particular interest here because they have a knack for pairing interesting salvage, flea market or antique objects with luxury to create comfortable environments. Check out a clip of the new show here. (Why so late I don't know, but I'm guessing this show will prove to be very popular).

rodrigo alonso: recycled plastic benches

Rodrigo Alonso's recycled plastic furniture is made from 100% waste obtained from random electronic devices, toys, drink trays, stadium seats and other plastic waste—The line uses a technique that shreds and then remolds the plastic by slightly melting it down into super durable material.

mercer museum: doylestown pennsylvania

These pictures from my visit to the Mercer Museum in Bucks County Pennsylvania are two years old, but worth sharing. The Museum founded by archaeologist Henry Mercer is a very large collection of hand crafted items that were commonly used by people in America before the machine age and widespread industrial revolution. These pictures include gorgeous butter molds and combs and hair accessories made from actual tortoise shell. One of my favorite sections of the museum is the very top floor, housing an enormous collection of ornate cast iron stoves.

“By 1897 handmade objects were being discarded in favor of new machine-made goods. Historian and archaeologist Henry Mercer (1856-1930) recognized the need to collect and preserve the outmoded material of daily life in America before it was swept away by the Industrial Revolution. Mercer gathered almost 30,000 items ranging from hand tools to horse-drawn vehicles and assembled this encyclopedic collection in a system of his own devising. To enhance the collection’s educational value, and to share it with the public, Mercer decided to design and build a museum to display the artifacts.”

haute modern crocheted housewares

I am in crochet heaven....
Paola Lenti

Joana Vasconcelos

Emma Llamb

Llotllov

Kwango Lee

Marcel Wanders

frederik roije: map bowls

Frederik Roije's Metro Bowl, city maps of Amsterdam and New York remind me of the lovely cut art by Studio K.

stone forest: dreaming of stone bathtubs

Stone Forest knows the way to my heart! These tubs almost make you believe you are at a hotsprings.

rug rag: thick flotaki wool rugs

Handmade with heavy dense New Zealand Wool, in a wide array of sizes, shapes, colors and and designs. Rug Rags

grass mirror: h20 architects

MMmmm the Grass Mirror by H2O Architects is serious wish list material!!
viaDesign Boom

haute nature: staghorn trophy: sean & stacy kelley

True garden brilliance in these mounted elkhorn & staghorn ferns by California based artists Sean & Stacy Kelley! Their project is meant to illustrate our disconnection with nature. I completely love antlers, so this version is an animal friendly must for my living room!!

john male: animal friendly animal rug

John Male is on the animal friendly front with this inventive non-animal hide rug. I love that designers like Sean Kelley and Jason Miller are creating such aesthetically pleasing, decorative animal alternatives for the home. The animals thank you.
Rug available at Studio John Male.

upholstery arts: biodegradable sofas

Upholstery Arts is a completely biodegradable sofa! Using FSC-certified wood, 100% natural latex, 100% natural wool, non-toxic fire protection, non-toxic glues, stains and finishes & ecological textiles; this has to be the greenest sofa around!

eco source: sustainable fiber containers

Eco Source manufacturers sustainable fiber containers named: GreenPots, Coir & Grēnware. Grēnware for everday tableware is made primarily with renewable plant fibers of bamboo, straw and rice hulls. The gorgeous earthy colors would look fabulous in any table setting. GreenPots are environmentally friendly garden containers made from rice hulls (a sustainable by product from edible crops). GreenPots break down naturally in landfills, but while in use are strong, durable and lightweight. The pots come in a range of colors from bright pinks to earth tones. Coir pots are larger profile gardening containers made from coconut fibers. Coir depletes no natural resources and have an amazing spongey texture which aids in water drainage.

10 most covetable objects

YLighting's personalized ad campaign is no less than genius. Each time I flip through my new Dwell magazine of the month, I pause and love seeing what design objects people treasure most in their lives. Each customer featured, tells a little bit about why they chose their 10 most precious objects. So of course I had to use Polyvore to make one of my own renditions of their wonderful ad campaigns. The most striking thing about seeing your most used and cherished objects together in simplicity is that it reinforces a feeling of serenity and happiness because each one brings pleasure or satisfaction to your life--seeing them all together is truly BLISS!! Try doing it yourself......

So here is an explanation of my own.
customer file: H. S./Boulder, CO.
1. Black Micheal Graves paper shredder bought at Target 2 years ago--I love to shred.
2. Bose Ipod dock, it has fabulous sound.
3. Bodum french press, wonderful for coffee or coconut assam tea.
4. I adore shells, but abalone is hands down my favorite-found a ton in Northern Cal.
5. I love my Flos GLoball T1 side table lamps.
6. My electra cruiser gets me where I want to go.. and has a basket to carry goods
7. Stainless steel Klean Kanteen keeps me hydrated.
8. I doubt I could live without LivingEtc. magazine
9. My heart hot water bottle from Italy makes me feel warm and cozy.
10. I use alaea Hawaiian salt when I cook...EVERYDAY. Reminds me of when I lived there.
11. My Alessi kitchen timer is personified.
12. I love tea, so a teapot is crucial.
13. My lambskins from Ikea keep chairs warmer.
Yeah.....I could not narrow it down to 10, but close enough...Below are some of their actual ad campaigns.